Flat-rate water charges proposed for next Budget

Todays Irish Independent is reporting that flat-rate water charges could be introduced in the next budget despite previous promises to bring in metering first. A water charge of €175 per home per year has previously been mooted by the Department of Finance.

The charges would be hugely controversial and fiercely opposed by the Green Party. In the absence of meters, the charge would not be considered an 'environmental tax' aimed at encouraging conservation of water. Environment Minister John Gormley has pledged that flat-rate water charges are not coming in and metering would have to come in first. Mr Gormley is due to come to Cabinet in the coming weeks with a plan to start installing water meters across the country. Pressure will mount at that point on the Green Party leader to provide a cast-iron guarantee that flat-rate charges won't come in first.

The Government is to spend €300m over the next three years replacing water mains. The Department of Finance has long argued for the introduction of a fixed water charge of about €175 a year per household -- about 50pc of the cost of providing water to the average household. Bringing in water charges for every house, after meters are installed, is government policy -- at the Greens' behest last year -- as a way to reduce the waste and fund local government. However, it will take up to a decade to put in water meters nationwide, so the Department of Finance has proposed the interim €175. Installing meters in 1.2 million households would cost between €250m and €300m over five to 10 years, according to briefing papers prepared by the Department of Finance.

"A flat rate of domestic water charges, which could be replaced by metering over time as they are installed, is an option. A scheme could be introduced on the basis of an initial flat rate until metering could commence at a rate of 50pc of the average usage (€175 per household per annum)," the department said.